March 25, 2012

It's 10 pm and I'm all packed and ready to start my adventure tomorrow morning.  The past three weeks, I've done little hiking, but have been very busy around the house and yard.  The amaryllis bulbs have all been planted and many are now sporting bloom stalks, but it will be at least a week before the earliest bloom, so I'll wait to enjoy them next year.

I've been busy trimming some 12' holly hedges back down to a more manageable 6' and have spread 5 cubic yards of mulch to help keep the weeds down in the flower beds this summer.

There are now 10 consecutively number boxes that Cheryl will mail to me at various points along the trail.  Each is addressed and the maps and various supplies have been distributed among them.  I have the addresses marked in my trail data book and will give try to give Cheryl a week or so's notice when I'm approaching my next mail stop.

I lined my backpack with heavy-duty trash compactor bags to try to keep everything dry on the trail.  I had everything pulled out of my pack yesterday and spent time this morning and evening stuffing everything back in.  I had been carrying a 40-42 lb pack during my most recent training hikes, and I expect I'll have somewhat more than that on my back when I leave Amicalola Falls State Park for the trail.  I tried the pack tonight and it didn't seem to bad, so I won't worry about it just yet.  Still, I don't really want to go put it  on the scale to see how heavy it is. 

I'll know soon enough if I can carry it, and it's too heavy I'll have the good folks at the Walasi-yi Center in Neels Gap, GA to help me go through it and send unnecessary items home.

The bus leaves Raleigh at 6:51 tomorrow morning and arrives in Atlanta at 2:30 pm.  Then I'll take the MARTA system to the North Springs Station where my shuttle from the Hiker Hostel will pick me up.  I spend Monday night with them, then get fed breakfast and should be heading up the trail Tuesday morning.

Thanks for the many kind words of support I've received recently.  It really does mean something to know so many people are pulling for you.

AYATORI

March 1, 2012

I hiked in Umstead State Park again today.  Only did 6 miles, but hiked it in just over 2 hours with my 40 lb pack.  It was about 70F today, and highs are expected in the high 70's-low 80's.  If I listen carefully, I can hear the snow-bound northerner's wistful sighs.  Today there were many more trout lilies blossoming along the trail.  I'm back home now and taking care of tasks that need my attention in the next few weeks.  I need to replant the amarylis bulbs that have been hardened off.  This is a year where I'm going to miss them.  If I can get them into pots, they'll be blossoming a few weeks after Easter when I'm hiking in western NC.  The hollies in the yard need to be trimmed, and all of the azaleas need a bit of fertilizer to enhance their blooms.  I was a rainy day yesterday and so I took the day off and converted the last 12 lbs of pale malt into a fine ale that I'll be bottling in 10 days.  It should be waiting for me when I return from the trail.  There are also 3 gallons of cherry wine from fruit that sister Barb picked last summer, and 5 gallons of blackberry wine from fruit that Cheryl and I picked last summer.  Both need to be stabilized and bottled in the next few weeks.

Well places to go and things to get done.

25 days before I leave.